Home Alone (1990)

Why its here:
Like it or not Home Alone has reached iconic status -- becoming a part of the cultural fabric with scenes like the one here of Macaulay Caulkin screaming when he comes to learn what aftershave is. Because we'd never seen it before, now was most definitely the time.

Specs:
1 1/2 hours; rated PG

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:

7.25

More about the film and our reaction to it:

Imagine that you've never seen this film. Forget about the baggage: the five film franchise, the Culkin family's legal battles, the troubled career of this talented little boy -- and just start with a fresh slate. Picture now a talented director and very funny script, top-notch grown-up actors supporting an appealing and charismatic child, and place them all in an imaginative romp where a large extended family goes on vacation and (through an honestly plausible series of events) manages to leave their 8 year old behind at home, well, alone.

Its a great concept and very well-executed. Its the same child-in-a-grown-up's-world survival fantasy concept that movies like Big or books like "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" plumb to great effect. And Home Alone is no dud in the mix. It is charming, funny, and satisfying.

Iconic image:

Beetlejuice (1988)

Why it's here:
To sample one of Tim Burton's first directorial efforts. I was also excited about the deeply talented cast.

Specs:
An hour and a half; rated PG*

Our family's average rating on a scale from 1-10:
7.75

More about the film and our reaction to it:
This is a strange film. I guess saying that Tim Burton directed it may have already made that apparent. Although it ultimately becomes a weird, scary-ish, supernatural 'comedy', the film starts out as an idyllic and romantic film of pleasant country life with our young couple played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. But all that changes soon enough and we transition into a story about an unpleasant and stressed urban family and their resident ghosts. I won't say much more so I don't give away interesting plot twists.

My older son (age 15) loved the film! My younger (age 12) really wasn't sure what to make of it, but ultimately enjoyed it a lot. I think he found parts of it slightly more disturbing but was won over by the incredible creative talents that are found everywhere in this film.  If you watch with your family, just go in with few expectations and you will probably get a huge kick out of it.

* As with other PG films of this era, the boundaries are stretched with sexually inappropriate content including some erotic gestures, a visit to a brothel, comments from Beetlejuice of a sexual nature and abundant proof that Beetlejuice is "interested" in teenage Winona Ryder. However, much of this stuff is short-lived on screen and might be glossed over quickly by parents or not fully understood by kids. There are also some fairly grotesque or disturbing images related to showing how various afterlife characters died or related to our main characters attempting to scare the living. These are played for absurd comedy purposes and not for horror, so it is hard to say how cautious you might wish to be about them. If you have tender souls in your household, a pre-watch is probably warranted just to see. This would not be a typical PG rated film today.

Iconic image: